Trevor Noah Opens Grammys With Jokes About Cocaine and Politics: ‘The Biggest Outdoor Event This Year Besides the Storming of the Capitol’

Daily Show host Trevor Noah opened the 63rd annual Grammy Awards with a monologue that started on an outdoor stage — “socially distanced from the Staples Center” — before moving through an airy theater, with jokes about politics, Covid-19, and cocaine.

“I know it’s been one year but it feels like ten,” Noah said of the pandemic. “As you can see here, we are outside. Meaning we get to enjoy the great Los Angeles air. Which I know may be as dangerous as Covid, but we’re willing to take the risk.”

“Tonight is going to be the biggest outdoor event this year, besides the storming of the Capitol,” Noah continued, drawing a laugh from a crowd of mask-wearing, socially distanced attendees in an open-air tent.

“Rest assured, everyone here is following all Covid-19 protocols and guidelines,” the host noted. “In fact, this is going to be the rare award show where the white stuff going up people’s noses is white cotton swabs. It’s really safe.”

Noah said the Grammy nominees will be seated in the tent for the award ceremony — “There’s more tension in that tent than at a family reunion at Buckingham Palace,” he joked — before introducing Harry Styles for a performance.

Watch above, via CBS.